Our Story Through our Buildings

1869 – Halifax, Nova Scotia
Our building on Bedford Row, Halifax, served as our first head office and Halifax branch from 1864 – 1879. We were known as the Merchants Bank from 1864 – June 21, 1869; the Merchants' Bank of Halifax from June 22, 1869 – January 1, 1901; and The Royal Bank of Canada starting on January 2, 1901.

1899 – Bennett, British Columbia When the bank opened at Lake Bennett, the country was in the grip of winter. The staff rented a shack, the floor of which had to be propped up to support the safe. The sign at the bottom left reads ‘dogs’ indicating that our branch would offer accommodation to large dogs employed for transportation through the Humber-Yukon Transport Co.

1905 – Rossland, British ColumbiaThe discovery of gold in Southern British Columbia in the late 1890s led Royal Bank to establish 10 branches in the province between 1897 and 1899.

1909 – Gowganda, Ontario The Gowganda, Ontario, branch was typical of banking on the frontier. Quickly established, often modestly equipped, and staffed by new recruits, these branches gave Royal Bank a presence in communities with growth potential.

1910 – Rexton, New Brunswick News of the coming of the Caraquet Railway led to the opening of a number of branches in New Brunswick’s hinterland. Rexton was a typical frontier branch, with upstairs living quarters for the manager.

1920 – Paris, France Our initial presence in France was to handle the banking services of the thousands of Canadians involved in Europe after the First World War.

1920 – Santos, Brazil The immediate success of our first Brazilian branch (Rio de Janeiro, 1919) inspired the opening of additional branches in Santos and Recife to capture the coffee and cocoa trade.

1920 – Rue St. Jacques, Montreal 147 rue St. Jacques (renamed 221 rue St. Jacques) served as our head office and Montreal main branch from 1908 – 1928. The building was originally dominated by statues representing agriculture, transportation, fisheries and industry.

1921 – Fort Smith, Northwest TerritoriesThis ‘tent office’ in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, typified the makeshift branches erected at the head of the railway construction to win the confidence of railway workers and newly arrived immigrants.

1925 – Chinese Department, East End Vancouver, British Columbia We were the first Canadian bank to have two branches in the same city west of Toronto with the opening of Vancouver, and Vancouver – East End (later Main & Hastings) branches, in 1897 and 1898.

1952 – Kemano, British Columbia A Quonset hut served as a combination office/residence for our Kemano branch staff.

1961 – New York Agency Our banking presence in New York was secured as early as 1899, with the help and advice of Governor Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt who was a relative of Royal Bank's president Thomas Kenny. Our offices were located at 68 William Street, pictured here in 1961.

1837 – Quebec Bank Charter Charter from Canada's second oldest chartered bank, the Quebec Bank, founded in 1818. In 1837, the Quebec Bank secured an extension of its charter for one year - this was the last banking measure passed by the Legislature of Lower Canada.

1911 – Warming the branch Once the cold weather set in, our branch in Macklin, Saskatchewan (then a branch of Union Bank of Canada) had to be warmed before the daily conduct of business; a job usually performed by the junior employee who arrived early to 'fire-up' the stove to permit the thawing of the ink wells.

1926 – Teller’s cage The teller’s cage was the centre of all transactions with clients. The fortress-like security of the cage served a twofold purpose: protection against hold-ups and a visible signal to clients that their money was in safe hands.